The University’s counselling and eating disorder services have helped record numbers of students and staff in the past 12 months.

Mike Rennoldson, academic lecturer in Clinical Psychology, believes the increase in numbers is due to raised awareness and better treatment.

The perceived pressure to achieve and the perfectionist traits present in many in academia mean staff and students can be at risk, said Dr Rennoldson. He emphasised how important it was to have services on campus, adding that the age of students and the stress of leaving home for the first time were potentially significant factors in the development of disorders such as anorexia and bulimia.

“Eating disorders can be thought of as a response to a series of personal and social pressures that leave a person feeling that they have not got a grip on life, or that they are falling short in some way,” said Dr Rennoldson.

“Food – either controlling it through restricting one’s diet, or ‘losing’ control by over-eating and experiencing a momentary pleasure and release – can be an intense alternative focus that can unfortunately gather an addictive quality in some people.”

B-eat is the leading UK charity for people with eating disorders and their families, saying that an estimated 1.6m of people in the UK are battling with eating disorders. The number of people asking for the University’s B-eat group for help has doubled since it formed in 2007, and the group is now asking for more volunteers.

Richard Armitage, of B-eat, said: “Eating disorders (ED) have always been a huge problem. Fortunately, they are now much more readily accepted as a true mental illness. Sadly, some people still believe EDs are ‘lifestyle illnesses’ only ‘suffered’ by young middle-class females. This is simply not the case.”

During term-time, B-eat meets every fortnight to allow people to discuss their feelings in a friendly, confidential environment. Email subeat@nottingham.ac.uk or visit www.su.nottingham.ac.uk/activities2/volunteering/studentprojects/beat. For details of the University’s counselling service, visit www.nottingham.ac.uk/counselling. For appointments, call 0115 9513695 or email counselling.service@nottingham.ac.uk.

Dr Rennoldson says anyone who thinks that food is becoming an issue should seek help. He said: “Services for people with eating disorders are getting much better. It is often a relief for people to be able to discuss their difficulties without being judged, and to discover that they are not the only one [affected by these issues].”